by Abi Walters
“I won’t have fun if I’m alone. If I don’t go, we can all go to Feathers. Do you remember how crazy it was there the Halloween of our senior year at NYU?”
“We are too old for body shots and fishnets.”
“Fishnets, huh?” Zach quipped with a shy smile.
Mia really liked Zach. He was perfect for her best friend. And his shyness, Lora confided, stopped at the bedroom door. It wasn’t as if Mia needed confirmation from her friend that her boyfriend was an animal in bed. She’d heard the two from her makeshift bed on the couch.
Lora gave him a playful punch, though her attention was on Mia, “What if I agree to go with you? I sign over my rights and will allow you to be my fairy godmother for the evening.”
Mia perked up, “Really?”
She had been trying to convince Lora to go with her for years. Lora insisted each year it wasn’t her scene and she didn’t have the correct clothes, and even after Mia offered to counter her Cinderella friend and spoil her with a gown and a makeover, she would still refuse.
“Only because I want to stalk down Heir.”
Mia eyed Zach, “Is that okay with you? I could call around and see if any of my coworkers aren’t taking a date and snag an extra invite if you want to go.”
He shook his head quickly, “You two need a night out together. I’ll just hold up at my place and as many horrible horror movies as I can.”
“I change my mind!” Lora exclaimed, then whined. “I want to watch horror movies with you.”
“No take-backs,” Mia laughed, something she hadn’t done since she was in Sian Kaan with Benson.
“How about a compromise, sweetheart? We can make some popcorn and make a bed on the floor out here and watch movies until we fall asleep.”
Zach’s words nearly made Lora melt. Mia smiled and looked down. Her best friend was a goner.
“And then I will pick you up at noon tomorrow so we can go shopping,” Mia added.
“Don’t think you can get out of movie night with us,” Zach flashed a goofy grin in her direction.
Mia didn’t object. Nearly all of Lora’s blankets were folded at the edge of the couch, as Mia had been spending the nights there to stay away from an apartment that didn’t feel like home. At her friend’s place, she didn’t have to confront phantom memories of Benson occupying the space, and she only had to fight the loneliness as she stilled for bed.
The three created a makeshift theater in front of the television. Lora retrieved the pillows and blanket from her bed, adding them to the mountain on the ground. Mia embraced the mess that used to irritate her when she visited Lora. The three of them found comfortable spots within the fluff, their heads resting against the back of the couch. With Lora in the middle holding a large blue serving bowl full of popcorn and Zach and Mia flanking either side, they put on Nightmare on Elm Street.
A few hours later with in the late hours of the evening, Zach and Lora were sleeping as the third installment of the movie began. Mia fumbled for the remote and muted it, curling away from the cuddling couple and facing the emptiness that consumed her every evening.
She missed Benson. She missed the way they fit perfectly together as he held her. She missed his smooth skin and his breath on her neck. She missed his smile, his laugh, his touch. She squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself not to cry, lest she wake up the couple beside her. She hated forcing her sadness on them just as much as she hated pretending to be happy.
Mia pulled a pillow from behind her and held it close. It wasn’t Benson, but it would have to do.
The next morning they stirred early with sore backs and headaches. After they polished a pot of coffee and a carton of eggs, Lora and Zach excused themselves to the bathroom. Mia awkwardly changed out of the pajamas Lora had provided and into her work clothes from the previous day. She glanced in the mirror, frowning. Without the previous day’s makeup smudged off during sleep, her eyes were even more sunken in and dull. Mia pulled her hair back and shrugged. It wasn’t as if she had anyone to impress anymore.
After Lora emerged from the shower with a flush face only achieved from a good orgasm. Two dozen kisses later, the two friends were on their way to the closest Nordstrom. They stopped at a chain coffee store on a corner on their way, quickly slurping down the sugary drinks. As soon as they stepped through the glass doors, Mia wished she could run away.
She didn’t want to go to the masquerade party. The thought of wearing a beautiful gown and parading around engaging in formalities was near sickening. But Lora seemed genuinely excited to get dressed up and go, and she wasn’t going to rob her friend from that opportunity… especially when Mia wasn’t sure if there would be another chance to take her. She was at the office more often than not during the week, but that didn’t ensure her next contract in May.
This could be the last Monarch masquerade ball she would attend, and dammit, she was going to do it right.
As soon as they began eyeing the gowns, the worries for the evening began to trickle away. No, she didn’t want to go, and no she didn’t feel like getting dressed up. But before she sent Benson away with her sanity, Mia loved designer clothes and looking good. She noticed all the dresses she was grabbing were dark- shades of black and blues. She snorted in her dressing room. At least my dress will match my mood.
“Are you ready?” Mia called out to the dressing room next to hers.
“I don’t know why I let you put me in this thing,” Lora returned. The door clicked and she could hear her friend exit to the trifold mirrors. “I’m in love with it, and it’s like two hundred bucks out of my price range.”
Mia swept out of her own dressing room and stared at Lora. Unlike the light and plain dresses she had picked out for herself, the dress Mia had picked was a jaw dropper. A strapless mermaid gown the color of the ocean on a stormy day, the piece accentuated her curves and rested perfectly on her hips. Her pale skin seemed creamier under the glow of the blue. When their eyes met in the mirror, Mia knew Lora saw how pretty she looked.
“Well good thing I’m buying it then,” Mia said as she stepped up beside her.
“Absolutely not!” Lora said quickly, raising her hands. “No.”
“Fairy godmother, remember?
Lora gazed down at Mia’s dress, “Maybe fairy godmother to Ozzy Osbourne. Definitely not Cinderella.”
The black Vera Wang cap sleeve gown was a portrait of romantic elegance. An extremely delicate and exceptionally beautiful lace overlay sheathed the gown. The skirt swept the floor slightly and featured the slightest of pleats. It was her favorite out of all the dresses she had tried on.
“It’s too soft to be the dress of Ozzy’s fairy godmother. I bet she would have leather and spikes, not lace. You’re just going to have to suck it up. Your fairy godmother is wearing this,” Mia pointed at herself and then at Lora, “And buying you that.”
Lora bit her lip, “I want it, Mia, but I can’t ask you to buy it for me.”
“Good thing you’re not asking.”
Lora shook her head in disbelief, “Fine, but I’m going to wear this to Thanksgiving for three years straight to make me feel better about it.”
They both retreated to their respective dressing rooms.
“I’m sure Zach would love that,” She teased.
“I’m a little nervous about having him meet my family.”
“Why? They’ll love him. He’s a great guy, Lora.”
“Because I think I love him, and it’s like as soon as I introduce him to everyone our relationship will get a thousand times more real.”
“You either love him or you don’t. And it’s not like what you have isn’t real right now.”
“I thought I loved my boyfriend in high school. I thought I loved the boy I dated from my residency hall in college. But what I feel with Zach is completely different. If what I felt with those two guys was love, then what do I have with Zach?”
Mia knew the feeling all too well. It was almost painful, listening to her fr
iend struggle with the feelings Mia had gone through over the past month. She had loved Aaron, or she thought she did. But she had definitely loved Grant. With Benson, it was a different kind of love. Passionate, deep, and slow burning. It went beyond love.
“He’s your soulmate,” Mia’s voice was hoarse. She left the dressing room with her gown carefully hung in her hand.
Lora emerged a few seconds later with big eyes. She opened her mouth to say something about Zach, but when she saw the emotions stretched thin on Mia’s face, she closed it and rubbed her back with tender affection.
“Don’t let your soulmate go… no matter how scary it feels… no matter what stands in your way. Don’t let him go.”
Unable to form words, Lora just nodded. She had watch her best friend fall apart, broken by her own mistakes with Benson, all while she babbled on about her own relationship. Of course, she had realized it was probably not the best thing to talk about when Mia was still reeling from the loss of the one man who seemed to know her the best. But Mia always seemed happy and eager to discuss Zach. It wasn’t until she stood silently crying in the middle of a Nordstrom dressing room that the pain from the restless nights was apparent.
Mia wiped her eye with the sleeve of her sweater, “Come on. We still have to hit up the costume shop for our masks.”
Lora didn’t protest when Mia took her gown or when the total was near thirteen hundred dollars. Her dress cost two times less than Mia’s did, but it was still staggering to see the number on the tiny screen.
As they walked to the costume shop two blocks away, Mia told Lora she had gone to that particular shop for the past five years. Mia gave a genuine smile as they walked into the tiny store bursting with rich fabrics and bright colors. There were racks of costumes and walls of accessories. Every possible piece of prop jewelry or obscure costume a person could need would be inside the cramped store.
“I didn’t think you were going to show up this year! Tisk, tisk. Waiting until the last minute.”
Mia turned to the familiar voice of the store’s owner. He was a thin middle aged man with cartoonish features. On his head was a pink cheetah print top hat, and a tape measure was wrapped haphazardly around his waist over his plain black shirt. His neon green pants were tucked into equally bright pink Doc Martin’s that matched the color of his top hat. The man was a curious enigma.
“I know, I know,” Mia laughed, waving her hand lazily. “Fetch, this is my friend Lora. She’ll be needing a mask too.”
Lora nodded a weak greeting.
Fetch either didn’t notice her newfound shyness around him, or he didn’t care. He tugged both of their hands and led them to a display case near the back of the store, “Lucky for you I have a few pieces in stock still. Take your pickings, ladies!”
The case held just more than a half dozen elaborate masks. They weren’t cheap replicas made for Halloween or party stores. The pieces were stunning works of art, beautifully crafted and well-kept.
Fetch leaned against the wall as they looked, both girls trying to select which would fit best with their dress.
“So you’re slumming with the big dogs now, huh?”
Mia’s head tilted to the side, “What do you mean?”
“Please don’t tell me those articles about you and the elusive Benson Ward were false. My poor heart couldn’t take it,” Fetch placed a hand on his chest dramatically.
Her finger tapped on her chin and she gave a weak smile, “A girl doesn’t kiss and tell. Now come unlock this. I’ve decided.”
The mask Mia chose would fit with her dress perfectly. It was a simple black mask with a slight lace overlay that had a near perfect match to the lace of her dress. A small black fabric rose was sewn into the upper left side of the mask, and the lace ribbons were silk. There were no masks the color of Lora’s dress, so she picked out an elaborate white mask with silver beading and feathers that made it look like it belonged on an angel.
A quick text on their way back to Mia’s lonely studio alerted Zach that they were on their way. He arrived a few minutes before they did, jogging over and placing a kiss on Lora’s forehead before the trio traveled upstairs.
Even with two extra bodies in the space, the room felt both empty and constricting at the same time. Though she was suddenly overwhelmingly depressed, she put on an upbeat playlist and started prepping her Cinderella for the masquerade.
In a studio apartment, it is prepare a big reveal. Lora didn’t want Zach to see her until she was completely dressed and ready to go. Therefore, the two girls were stuck preparing in the tiny bathroom while he graded assignments at her island, head bobbing along to the music.
“Do you think Benson will be there?” Lora timidly asked.
Mia froze, her fingers buried in Lora’s hazelnut locks. The thought had been in the back of her mind since the day before. Hell, it may have been the reason she didn’t want to go at all.
“Well, it is a masquerade party, so hopefully I won’t have to find out.”
“You know how Benson is,” Lora’s half smile bounced at Mia in the mirror. Stubborn. Persistent. Demanding. Dominant. “If he is there, he’ll find you.”
Mia didn’t respond. She continued to curl and tease Lora’s hair. How could she face Benson after seeing the look in his eyes when she told him to go? How could she look at him knowing she threw him away for a job that she now resented?
After Lora’s hair was curled and pinned into an elegant up-do, Mia applied complementary makeup and turned her attention on herself. She liked her hair best when it was down, flowing in layers around her face. So does Benson. She decided to curl the ends a little to add extra volume and bounce. A black line under her eyes and a classic red lip later, and she was done.
Zach was speechless when he saw Lora. Mia couldn’t help but smile when the lanky professor stumbled to occupy the space in front of them where he lavished the two, especially Lora, with compliments. To keep the two out of the dingy parking garage below, he offered to fetch Mia’s rarely used car.
Ten minutes later Lora was kissing Zach goodbye from the passenger side of her red Mini Cooper. Fifteen minutes later Mia was sure she forgot how to drive a car. And forty minutes later when she dropped the car off with the valet, she was completely terrified.
Each year Monarch held his masquerade ball at his own home. Just outside the city, the mansion was a castle forged from hit singles and back catalogues. The home towered with three stories and a tower that stood even taller. She had been to the home five times and it never became less intimidating or stunning.
They secured their masks and passed through the final round of security. In front of them, the ball unfolded.
Monarch was not a simple guy, and he never did understated. If the acrobats hanging from the vaulted ceilings, sensually weaving their bodies together, wasn’t enough to convince someone, maybe the half nude mimes would. Flashy and over the top, the masquerade ball was a showcase of new money and fame. The demanding staircases on either side of the grand entrance were full of beautiful gowns and designer tuxedos holding flutes of champagne.
As they walked into the ballroom straight ahead, the music pulsated louder. A full orchestra played on a platform wrapped in gold. On either side of the stage were two large cages with women in stunning black lace lingerie and masks to match dancing. Under the light from ornate chandleries couples engaged in the most formal of dances.
“This isn’t what I expected,” Lora quipped.
Mia laughed and pulled her through to a dining hall that was equally as large, “What did you expect?”
Though the hall was full of guests dining at the tables covered in white, the room didn’t seem crowded. A pair of lingerie clad women on unicycles loftily zipped passed and Lora gawked in their direction.
“More of that.”
“Well,” Mia leaned in and gave a devilish grin. “Monarch has a soundproof cement basement he had transformed years ago when the ‘youths’ of the industry decided his parties were
a little lame. One of the electronic artists on the label performs down there. Strobe lights, glow sticks, illegal substances. Is that more your style?”
“You’re kidding.”
“Want me to show you? It’s kind of funny to see all these people in fancy dresses and masks down there grinding to club music.”
Lora put a finger on her chin, “Do you think Heir is down there?”
“She was up here last year. I think she gets a kick out of wearing next to nothing and waltzing with the CFO.”
They headed back to the ball room, passing by an ice sculpture of the label’s logo. The room had filled out with a few more couples gliding across the room. After finding the source of the champagne flutes, the two spotted an empty table near the open French doors leading outside to the impeccable garden.
A few songs passed and their chutes were long empty. As much as Mia hadn’t wanted to go, she enjoyed the ball. Seeing a room of celebrities and multi-millionaires pretend to be someone else for a few fleeting moments was always reassuring. When a broad shouldered suit approached their table, Mia’s breath caught in her throat. The man’s eyes met hers and she sighed heavily. Amber rocks gaze back before turning to Lora. He stuck out a hand.
“May I have the next dance?”
Lora peeked over at Mia and mouthed Zach, as if asking for help with the situation.
“It’s just a dance,” Mia assured, reaching over and briefly squeezing Lora’s hand. “Have fun, Cinderella.”
Lora’s cheeks flushed and the man gave a healthy laugh that oozed confident sex appeal. Turning her chin, Lora accepted the hand and rose gracefully.
As they walked away Mia could hear the stranger tease, “Calm down, Cinderella. Just a dance, remember?”
As soon as their bodies blended in with the group on the floor, she stood and made her way to the doors nearby. Her face hurt from holding a smile and she felt like she was going to explode if she didn’t get a chance to breathe. She was only a few steps from the door when she felt him. His presence was overwhelming- a force that swept her away and took her breath. Cautiously, she turned.